Urgent measures are needed now to stop further spread, the World Health Organization says.

There was an “alarming” nearly 45-fold increase in measles cases in Europe last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

Health chiefs are warning that cases are still rising and “urgent measures” are needed to prevent further spread.

Some 42,200 people were infected in 2023, compared to 941 during the whole of 2022.

The WHO believes this is a result of fewer children being vaccinated against the disease during the Covid pandemic.

In the UK, health officials said last week that an outbreak of highly contagious measles in the West Midlands could spread rapidly to other towns and cities with low vaccination rates.

More than 3.4 million children under the age of 16 are unprotected and at risk of becoming ill from the disease, according to NHS England.

  • Lath@kbin.social
    105·
    10 months ago

    COVID took precedence over all else during that pandemic and resources from otherwise regular activities such as mass vaccination in schools for measles were ignored.
    So it’s less the problem of antivax parents and more the amazingly poor organizational skills of our institutions.